About Me

Heather Robertson headshot

I am a recent graduate of the Design Engineering Master’s program at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design. I am also a graduate of Brown's Computational Design Group, led by professor Adriana Schulz. My work centers making as a liberatory practice, motivated by the (dis)ability and queer liberation movements. I approach this subject both from a theoretical, academic perspective -- researching computational design and creative technologies -- and through the concrete practice of making -- often with technology as a physical medium. My work particularly centers humor and play, recognizing joy as a foremost form of resistance.

Resumé

Education

Brown University & Rhode Island School of Design | Providence, RI
Master of Arts in Design Engineering | May 2026

Smith College | Northampton, MA
Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science with Highest Honors | GPA: 3.95/4.00 | May 2025
Concentration: Interdisciplinary Making | Minor: Mathematical Sciences
Honors Thesis: Tilability of Platonic Solid Nets in Multiple Dimensions

Université Grenoble Alpes | Grenoble, France
University Diploma of French Studies with Highest Recognition | May 2024

Skills

Design and Fabrication: Arduino, Raspberry Pi, IoT, Fusion, Illustrator, Figma, CNC, CAM, Laser Cutting, 3D Printing, Soldering, Sand Casting, Machine Embroidery, Basic Woodworking

Programming Languages: Java, Python, C, Ruby, Assembly, Mathematica, TeX, SQL

Frameworks and Tools: Git, Bash, Linux, ROS, Rails, HTML/CSS, UML, Markdown, OpenCV

Research / Laboratory Experience

Lab Assistant | Brown University Computational Design Group | 12/2025 - 05/2026
Conducting independent study on low-cost digital display fabrication and computational design for descent;
fabricating and testing embroidered, multistable metamaterials for development and validation of parametric design tools and real-world capacitive sensing applications.

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow | Smith College Robotics and Mechatronics Laboratory | 05/2024 - 07/2024
Rapidly prototyped and iterated on 5 autonomous robotic systems, integrating sensing, actuation, and embedded control across multiple design configurations;
mentored students in robotics outreach, translating technical systems into accessible learning experiences.

Research Assistant | Abarca Insectology Laboratory | 09/2023 - 12/2023
Designed and built an autonomous moth-monitoring device for field deployment, reducing space and energy consumption through hardware rework;
conducted fieldwork and iterative testing to analyze and improve reliability in outdoor environments.

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow | Smith College Linkage Laboratory | 05/2023 - 08/2023
Designed and proved an algorithm generating tilings from solvable polyomino sets;
Optimized algorithmic efficiency and computational performance for geometric construction problem.

Leadership Roles

Organizational Committee Member | Design Engineering Café | 01/2026 - 05/2026
Designed and facilitated weekly community events for design critique, prototyping, and technical skill-building;
Coordinated guest lectures connecting students with practitioners in design, engineering, and research.

Departmental Liaison | Smith College Computer Science Department | 05/2023 - 05/2025
Facilitated structured feedback between students and faculty, including through representation of student concerns in monthly faculty meetings;
Organized departmental events to meet student needs and strengthen community engagement.

Honors and Awards